TCPR’s Campaign of Misinformation about Al Gore’s Energy Use

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about Al Gore’s energy consumption, and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research is behind most of it. This ‘research organization’, which declines to identify where it gets its funding, has now put out two press releases detailing what they call Al Gore’s “massive home energy use”, citing information from the Nashville Electric Service.

According to the TCPR, Gore, who they call a “global warming alarmist”, is wasting tons of energy while laughing all the way to the bank with “global warming hysteria” profits. From their June 17th, 2008 press release:

“A man’s commitment to his beliefs is best measured by what he does behind the closed doors of his own home,” said Drew Johnson, President of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “Al Gore is a hypocrite and a fraud when it comes to his commitment to the environment, judging by his home energy consumption.”

In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month.

Since taking steps to make his home more environmentally-friendly last June, Gore devours an average of 17,768 kWh per month – 1,638 kWh more energy per month than the year before the renovations. By comparison, the average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration. The cost of Gore’s electric bills over the past year topped $16,533.

Their first press release on the subject, released last February the day after Gore won an Academy Award for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, trumpeted similar claims. The problem is, the data that the TCPR gained from public records is from a period of time when Gore’s home was in the midst of a three-year renovation, which naturally caused a temporary increase in power usage. Since then, the home has been praised as one of the country’s most environmentally friendly.

‘Short of tearing it down and starting anew, I don’t know how it could have been rated any higher,’ said Kim Shinn of the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council, which gave the house its second-highest rating for sustainable design. [Denver Post]

Al Gore’s spokesperson Kalee Krieder refuted the TCPR’s allegations to the Nashville Post on June 18th:

I am happy to provide more information about this from the Gores’ perspective. First, this release yesterday are [sic] a mere re-release of old bills. If any of you have ever worked with contractors, you know that renovations take years. The Gores renovated a 80 year old house from stem to stern. This took about 3 years to go through all the ducwork [sic], to install a geothermal system, to replace all the windows, to put in solar panels (which used to be illegal in Bellemeade and took 6 months to reverse).

So, to be clear, the Gores’ achieved Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification in November 2007. The reduction in the electricity and natural gas bills–you need to look at both in order to truly evaluate their carbon footprint, really kicked in in 2008. At that point, evaluating both, there is about a 40 percent reduction.

Their natural gas bill has seen the biggest reduction as a result of the geothermal system. For electricity, they purchase green power through their utility, which is called “Green Power Switch.” It isn’t an offset, any customer can purchase green power (solar, wind, methane gas) and its a wonderful program.

Indeed, the TCPR chose to ignore the fact that the energy used by Gore’s home is now all green power, an omission that was repeated by Fox News’ Brit Hume on an airing of Special Report.

That’s not all. MediaMatters.org reports that on a February edition of MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Olbermann stated that the TCPR’s claims “omits several other key facts. The former vice president’s home has 20 rooms, including home offices for himself and his wife, as well as a guest house and special security measures. Furthermore, the Gores buy energy produced from renewable sources, such as wind and solar. Tonight, Countdown confirmed with the local utility officials that their program, called the Green Power Switch, actually costs more for the Gores — four dollars for every 150 kilowatt hours. Meaning, by our calculations, our math here, that the Gores actually chose to increase their electric bill by $5,893, more than 50 percent, in order to minimize carbon pollution.”

Furthermore, Gore donates all of the proceeds from An Inconvenient Truth – both the DVD and the companion book – to environmental causes. He also donated 100% of his Nobel Peace Prize award as well as his salary from the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers to the Alliance for Climate Protection.

What motivates the TCPR to put out this misinformation? Is it a desire to make sure the public has the facts, or an attempt to kill the messenger by a group that seeks to discredit global warming?

TCPR is a global warming denial group actively working to discredit information about climate change and anyone who works to educate the public about it. The TCPR reportedly joined the ‘Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change’, a group that claims to have “been established as a response to the many biased and alarmist claims about human-induced climate change, which are being used to justify calls for urgent action by governments.”

TCPR ‘staff and scholars’ are made up of individuals who have supported anti-environment causes and/or received support from anti-environment groups. TCPR president Jason ‘Drew’ Johnson has a long background of working for groups that deny global warming and seek to discredit it. Others have openly called environmental activism “destructive”. MediaMatters.org has some of the details:

Further, as part of the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program, Johnson interned at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in 2002. As MSNBC host Keith Olbermann noted on the February 27 edition of Countdown, Johnson worked at “the same American Enterprise Institute that takes money from big oil, cheerleads the war in Iraq, and consistently, and now to pretty consistent laughter, downplays global warming.” Indeed, AEI has received nearly $1 million in funding from ExxonMobil in recent years. Moreover, according to The Washington Post, AEI “has been soliciting critiques” of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in February and “has offered $10,000 to academics willing to contribute to a book on climate-change policy.”

TCPR scholar Charles Van Eaton also serves as a trustee for the Lincoln Heritage Institute (LHI). The institute’s “About LHI” page declares: “We … cannot stand idly by and allow … destructive environmental activism … to become an accepted way of life in America.”

The Department of Revenue commented to the Nashville Post – in a story that has since been deleted from their website – that the TCPR is “not a legitimate organization”.

When it comes down to it, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research’s attempts to discredit Al Gore and paint him as a hypocrite are a pathetic effort to derail the climate change awareness movement. As important as Al Gore has been and continues to be for climate change awareness, he is only a very small part of a growing urgency to act. The world is starting to wake up, and no matter how hard groups like the TCPR may try to stop it, the movement to act on climate change is going to keep on rollin’.

Link [TCPR] + [MediaMatters.org] + [Washington Post]

Kudzu Ethanol Plant Planned in Tennessee

We told you a couple months ago about Kudzu, ‘the vine that ate the South’. Kudzu, originally from Japan, was introduced to the U.S. nearly 130 years ago and has since taken over the entire Southeast, with masses of it completely covering trees, fences and buildings. Kudzu has long been thought of as a nuisance, but recent research has revealed that Southeastern landowners might be sitting on goldmines: kudzu can be used to produce energy. A new plant in Tennessee aims to turn the stuff into ethanol, a great alternative to corn since it doesn’t require irrigation.

From Chemically Green:

So what does Kudzu have to do with ethanol? Simply, due to the starch (sugar) content, kudzu can be used to replace corn to make ethanol. Will kudzu take the place of food ingredients being used to make ethanol? A resounding “Yes!” is stated by Mr. Doug Mizell, co-founder of Agro* Gas Industries in Cleveland, Tennessee. Mizell and company co-founder, Tom Monahan, have dubbed the kudzu-based-ethanol, “Kudzunol.” Kudzu is an obvious resource: “There’s 7.2 million acres of kudzu in the south that’s absolutely good to no one,” said Mizell. “It grows a foot a day, 60 feet a season and can be harvested twice a year and not even hurt the stand.”

Agro*Gas plans to break ground on an ethanol producing plant in McMinn County or a surrounding county by end of the year and hopefully begin production in 2009.

The eco-friendly plant will be privately funded. How awesome is it that we can use this ‘weed’, which grows rampant all over an entire region of the U.S. as fuel? Plus, the entire plant is used in the fuel making process, so no part goes to waste, and it won’t be tied to the commodities market, so the price won’t raise and lower in relation to the stock markets. We love it. Go Green Kudzu!

Link [Chemically Green]
Photo credit: Jack Anthony

94% of Americans Want Solar Power; Politicians Lag Behind

Shock of the week: politicians are out of touch with the needs and desires of the people. I know, it’s hard to believe, considering what a great job they do of keeping our best interests in mind as they squabble, pocket lobbyist bribes, dive for power and eat filet mignon for a casual Wednesday lunch.

A recent poll found that 94% of Americans support the development and funding of solar energy including 91% of Republicans, 97% of Democrats and 98% of Independents. 77% of those polled feel that developing solar power should be a major priority of the federal government.

The Sietch Blog has it:

When asked which one energy source they would support if they were President, 41 percent of Americans picked solar. Solar and wind together were favored nearly 20 times more than coal (3 percent).

“These results are an undeniable signal to our elected leaders that Americans want job-creating solar power, now,” said Rhone Resch, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

According to the survey, nearly three-quarters of Republicans (72 percent), Democrats (72 percent) and Independents (74 percent) favor an extension of the federal investment tax credits (ITC) as a way to encourage development of solar power and fund continued development of the technology. In contrast, only 8 percent of Americans believe the ITC should not be extended.

At the end of this year, legislation that provides incentives for the growth of renewable energy are set to expire, and in order to build momentum and have a real hope of clean forms of energy becoming mainstream we need it to be renewed long-term. Get on it, lawmakers!

Link [The Sietch Blog]
Photo credit: Flickr user Jimmy_Joe

Time for Businesses to Get Green or Else

Whether you believe that climate change is man-made or not, it’s happening. It’s no longer a matter of if, it’s when. While obviously, we think the evidence is staggering that humans have done great harm to the planet, let’s put that aside temporarily so we can all agree: businesses need to catch up with the ‘green’ movement or suffer the consequences. It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe in global warming. What matters is whether you want to be successful in the future of business.

Andrew Winston, co-author of the book Green to Gold, a guide for businesses going green, writes on his blog:

First, rising prices for nearly everything mean we’re entering the big leagues. Whether you call it “green” or “eco-efficiency” doesn’t matter; either way, all the efficiency tools we have - such as total quality, lean manufacturing, six sigma - are going to be put to the test. If your company has a knack for cutting out waste and reducing resource use, it will survive and thrive. If you can’t reduce your reliance on fossil fuels in your whole value chain - from sourcing to manufacturing to distribution - you may be in trouble.

Second, if you can offer a new “supply” to help bolster that side of the Econ 101 curves, you will have a giant market to satisfy (those billions of consumers). And I’m talking about smart supply growth, not the corn ethanol kind that actually exacerbates all of our problems. I’m talking new low-carbon energy, water saving technologies and processes, good design principles, building efficiency, and on and on.

It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out. Some big companies helmed by people who don’t see a need to change may go belly-up despite their current confidence. The ones that are too slow to move will be left behind, and the ones who move quickly will survive and get richer.

You can read more of Andrew’s tips for businesses looking to go green on his blog.

Link [Andrew Winston]
Photo credit: Flickr user Gaetan Lee

A Nature-Inspired Underwater Power Generator that Looks Like Sharks

Following nature’s innate wisdom when planning a design seems like a really smart idea. I love bio-mimicry, and this is just about the coolest thing I’ve seen. Underwater generators that disturb sea life as little as possible and look this awesome? Love it.

Gizmodo has it:

It never hurts to take cues from nature when designing technology, and that’s just what BioPower Systems did when engineering its bioSTREAM underwater generator. It’s inspired by shark tails, using the shape in a fixed device that moves with the motion of the ocean. It reverses the use of the tail, with the water moving it rather than it moving in the water, but by anchoring it to a fixed point it allows it to align itself in any direction depending on how the flow is moving. No word on just how cost-effective generating energy this way would be, however.

I wish they would add shark fins to them that stick out of the water. I’d pay to go see that – a giant field of artificial sharks swimming in an unchanging and immovable formation.

Read more about biologically inspired ocean power systems at the BioPower Systems website.

Link [Gizmodo] + [BioPower Systems]

Welcome to the Black Hole of Despair: High Oil Prices Cause Resurgence in Coal Mining

Sigh. This is not good, people. Just when you think the high price of oil will force people to turn to greener sources of energy, they turn back to the tried and true. As if afraid to give new forms of energy a shot, demand is back up for dirty, dirty coal. This is not going to be easy.

The New York Times has it:

But after decades of seemingly terminal decline, Japan’s coal country is stirring again. With energy prices reaching record highs — oil settled above $135 a barrel on Thursday — Japan’s high-cost mines are suddenly competitive again, and demand for their coal is booming. Production has jumped to its highest in nearly four decades, creating a sensation rarely felt in these mining communities: hope.

Soaring commodity prices have had distorting effects across the global economy, driving up food prices and prompting fears of future energy shortages. But they have been an unanticipated boon to the coal producing regions of countries like Japan that had written off coal mining as a relic of the Industrial Revolution.

Please, Oh Flying Spaghetti Monster, don’t let this turn into a worldwide trend. This would send us backward in our progress toward a greener planet. Where high oil prices could have spurred increased funding and interest in wind energy, solar power and other renewable forms of energy, we’re increasing carbon output. How incredibly stupid. Perhaps the human race is hell-bent on destroying itself, after all.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user mangpages

Queen Elizabeth Outfits Her Crib with the World’s Largest Wind Turbine

Move over, Prince Charles. Yo mamma wants the world to know she’s the baddest eco bitch in town. Queen Elizabeth’s property company, the Crown Estate, has purchased the largest wind turbine in the world. This baby is 7.5 megawatts, dwarfing even the huge 1.5 megawatt monsters that can currently be seen around the world.

Ecorazzi has it:

“The Estate, which owns most of the seabed off Britain’s shores, regularly leases out its land to wind farm projects but has never invested in the turbines. With a capacity of 7.5 megawatts, the Crown has gone for the biggest yet. ‘This is not something we’ve ever done before and I think it will raise quite a few eyebrows,’ Ben Barton, the company’s offshore manager for wind farms said.”

The turbine is expected to be fully operational by 2010 — with all the power generated sold to the national grid and the Queen’s iPod. Seriously. We hear she loves David Cook but would “love to have David Archuleta over for dinner.”

The Queen’s gone green! We love it. Hopefully all you Brits will appreciate this move and encourage more of the same. The Queen may not have any political power, but she can certainly influence the masses. What’s good enough for royalty is surely good enough for the serfs, eh?

Link [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Off-Grid Homes Save Electricity and Provide a Great Example for the Rest of Us

We can all learn a lot from the people who have decided to go off-grid – completely or just partially – using renewable energy to power their homes. When most people think of being off-grid, they imagine living like the Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie: using candles at night, spending hours doing back-breaking manual labor to keep your home heated in the winter and having no televisions or computers.

The fact is, using alternative energy sources for at least some of your home’s power isn’t just within reach, it’s not going to force you to sacrifice all that much. Your quality of life won’t be adjusted beyond feeling better about your energy consumption.

Charmaine Watts of New Zealand is a great example of making off-grid work while still living a modern life of convenience.

From the New Zealand Herald:

Her family of two adults and three children are one of hundreds around the country generating their own electricity.

With power prices on the rise, the $20,000 the Watts spent installing solar panels, a small wind turbine, storage batteries and wiring is starting to look like a good investment.

“I don’t need to worry about power cuts,” said Ms Watts. “It’s just like a normal house. I flick the switch on my computer or my DVD player and away I go.”

Watts says solar panels lasting between 25 to 30 years cost $25,000 , making them a good option even for city dwellers.

“Anyone with a roof has the potential to make their own electricity.”

$20,000 is definitely a lot of money, but many homeowners spend that much or more just on a bathroom remodel. Why not live with a smaller, vintage bathroom and spend that cash on something that’ll reduce your dependence on electricity and lower your carbon footprint? Seriously, watch those HGTV remodel shows – they spend exorbitant amounts on something that doesn’t even look all that great when they’re done. That money could be put to much better use.

Living smaller and keeping older stuff longer isn’t really the American way, and that’s part of what got us into this mess in the first place. Instead of focusing our consumerist drive on crap we’re going to get sick of in a few years and toss in a landfill, we could focus it on turning this country around for the sake of the planet.

You can learn more about going off-grid at Off-Grid.net.

Link [New Zealand Herald] + [Off-Grid.net]

Sierra Club Seeking National Online Organizer to Fight Coal Industry

Down with the coal industry! The Sierra Club has posted a job announcement seeking someone who can take over the efforts to fight the coal industry and push clean renewable energy in the U.S. Let’s help them find a good candidate for this important job! Here are the details – spread it around and email it to anyone you know who might be interested.

The Sierra Club, the nation’s largest grassroots environmental group has launched a nationwide campaign to stop the construction of new coal plants and end destructive mining practices in Appalachia. The campaign is part of the overall strategy to move the United States beyond coal and slash global warming pollution. Organizers or campaigners of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply for this full-time, paid position.

From the Sierra Club:

The National Coal Campaign online organizer will work alongside our top campaigners to stop the coal rush by fighting individual power plants, stopping mountain-top removal, and speeding up the deployment of clean and renewable energy sources across the US.

To apply, email natalie.foster -at- sierraclub =d0t= org with “Coal Online Organizer application” in the subject line. This position is geo-flex, full-time, and includes a competitive salary and full benefits.

Key skills we’re looking for:

- An organizer at heart. You should be eager to empower and engage others in the democratic process and work well with all types of people.

- Passionate about protecting the planet by building grassroots power. Saving the world is your life, not just your job.

- Calm under fire. When the Kansas legislature reverses the veto of Governor Sebelius to stop a coal-fired power plant, you quickly, strategically and coolly swing into gear.

- Leadership experience. You start projects, rally people, inspire others.

- Excellent writing skills. Your writing should be sharp, personable, and hard-hitting.

- Strong self-starter, entrepreneurial. You don’t need someone to tell you what to do.

- Willing to do what it takes to make a project come off. Low ego, high focus on getting stuff done.

- Hard worker, can do flexible hours and manage your time independently. You know that changing the country doesn’t always happen between 9 and 5.

- At ease with technology. You don’t have to know HTML, but you should know what HTML is.

Link [Sierra Club]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Whaaa? Naomi Campbell Honored for Renewable Energy Activism

April Fool’s Day is long over, so there doesn’t seem to be a good explanation for this. Have we somehow entered an alternate reality in which Paris Hilton is the Secretary of State, Britney Spears has become head of the Midwest Conservative Moms Association and Colin Farrell is a priest? Ecorazzi reports that temperamental British model Naomi Campbell, who’s best known for hurling objects at her assistants, has been given an award for supposed achievements in renewable energy activism.

Ecorazzi has it:

Apparently, a fresh new organization that’s literally nowhere to be found online beyond their website, organized the gala at the United Nations last Friday. Called the International Renewable Energy Organization (IREO), their Diamond Awards for Renewable Energy event was meant as an introduction to the new org and an opportunity to honor those making strides in alternative energy.

Leonardo DiCaprio was listed as an attendee on the invite, but apparently he caught wind of the shady intentions of the honors and jumped ship. Other celebrities like Heidi Klum and Patrick Dempsey did manage to show, but we’re not sure exactly why. Joining Campbell in the honors was Petra Nemcová - but at least this is one famous fashion model that has actually helped address the issue of renewables.

The only thing we can remember Campbell doing is picking up trash as part of her community service (for assaulting an assistant), making plans to develop a casino and hotel on a coastal sanctuary for turtles in Kenya, and wearing animal fur and skins for nearly every photo opportunity. What a brilliant choice!

Seems like IREO is just fishing for publicity by inviting any celebrities that might be likely to show up. Not a great way to start an organization, especially if they want to be taken seriously.

Link [Ecorazzi]

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Britain’s Armed Forces Could Run on Algae, Weeds & Solar Power

In a story that brilliantly illustrates the untapped potential that lies all around us, the Times Online writes about alternative energy sources currently being considered by the British Army. In an effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, scientists are working hard at new innovations, and some of them are truly amazing.

The Times Online has it:

Possible innovations include unmanned attack aircraft powered by the sun. They would fire missiles fuelled with hydrogen produced by feeding algae to microbes.

Tanks could be electrically powered or run on fuel produced from oil squeezed out of weeds so hardy they can grow in the desert.

Ships could run completely on electricity produced from generators powered by synthetic fuels made from grass.

The environmental requirements of the army, navy and air force will be presented this week to specially vetted defence and research companies.

These ideas aren’t likely to become a reality for a decade or two, but the fact that they’re working so hard at ideas like this is so encouraging. The need to ‘go green’ is all the more important to the British Armed Forces, as their fuel bill is currently £400m annually – double what it was four years ago. The Ministry of Defence is currently working on a range of sophisticated green technology plans that won’t be revealed to the public for a while; the plans are currently being made available for viewing only to select companies and researchers.

Link [Times Online]

Photo credit: Flickr user elroySF

Rock Port, Missouri Proves that Wind Power Really Works

Wind turbines haven’t just provided Rock Port, Missouri with 100% of their power. They’ve provided an extra 23% on top of that – enough to sell some to other cities.

Rock Port, Missouri, is a small city of 1,300 people, and they just made history by being the first city in the US to be 100% powered by the wind, also making them #1 in the US for percentage of renewable energy. The Loess Hills Wind Farm, built by the Wind Capital Group, employing 500 workers from 20 states for about a year, is expected to produce about 16 million kilowatt hours annually, while Rock Port only uses 13 million. The excess wind power will be sold to other communities in the area.

They’ve provided a great example for the rest of the nation. It’s time to start doing this in more cities. Of course, there are always those people that will complain that wind turbines are ‘ugly’ – the whole Not in My Backyard thing. Personally, I think they’re beautiful because of what they stand for: renewable energy. Doesn’t that mean more than having ‘eyesores’ in your city?

Link [Treehugger]

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Houses Covered in Gold: When Kudzu Attacks

Earlier this week, we told you about kudzu, the ‘scourge of the South’, a vine that spreads like crazy and has now been found to have quite a few promising uses. It’s being looked to as a possible source of renewable energy, plus it has the ability to leach chemicals out of contaminated soils and has additional food and medicinal uses.

Well, that would mean that these folks are sitting on (or, rather, under - if anyone can even get in the house) a veritable gold mine. This is the sort of thing I see often driving from North Carolina down to my home state of Florida: structures totally taken over by kudzu.

Photographer Jack Anthony has some amazing photos of what he calls ‘natural sculptures’, including an awesome series showing the progression of the kudzu growth over four seasons. No doubt, the owners of this land were unhappy when the kudzu invasion started, but maybe they feel better after the recent kudzu-loving news. Before they know it, they might be standing outside their fences protecting this stuff with shotguns against would-be poachers!

Link [JJAnthony] via [Neatorama]

Photo credit: Jack Anthony

Kudzu: The Cancer of the South, Mankind’s Savior?

I live in the South, where Kudzu stretches for miles and miles. I’ve seen abandoned buildings completely taken over, and forests covered in an eerie Kudzu canopy. The oft-maligned, extremely invasive plant has been called ‘the plant that ate the South’. The idea of Kudzu ever having a positive use would leave many Southerners scratching their heads.

So it’s surprising to learn that Kudzu actually has many benefits - and might even be one answer to the world’s energy crisis.

What would you call a plant that may be mankind’s next great source of renewable biofuels?

That can leech the noxious chemicals out of contaminated soils?

That is an essential component of Chinese traditional medicines; a potential control drug for an alcoholic’s cravings; a plant whose starch makes pies and gravies light and delicious; not to mention a plant that can prevent stream banks from eroding, naturally increase the fertility of depleted farmers’ fields; can be ground up to produce fine paper and is a beloved by goats as forage?

I can tell you one thing - landowners around here would be more than happy to unload tons of this stuff on whoever wants it. That is, unless the greed that is such an ingrained part of human nature takes over and turns it into the next big cash crop. Yeah, that seems more likely.

Link [CBC News]

Photo: Flickr user meshmar2

Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Thinks Seven Generations Out, Will Leave Newly Discovered Oil Fields Untapped For Now

You’ve gotta give it to Saudi King Abdullah- he’s thinking about the children, well his children at least. He recently ordered some of his country’s latest discovered oil fields set aside for future generations.

Business 24|7 has it:

“I keep no secret from you that when there were some new finds, I told them, ‘no, leave it in the ground, with grace from god, our children need it’,” King Abdullah said in remarks made late on Saturday.

US President George W Bush in January urged the Saudi King to help tame soaring prices by encouraging Opec to pump more oil. On separate trips to Saudi Arabia this year, the US Energy Secretary also asked for more oil, while the Vice-President discussed high prices with the king.

I don’t think I really need to point out the ironic absurdity of this and will leave this one for you to work out. Happy Monday, it’s going to be a great week.

Link [Business 24|7]

BP Drops Renewable Energy in Face of Profits Glut on $100/Barrel Oil

Well that was over fast. I’m speaking, of course, about BP’s embrace of renewable energy. They have effectively abandoned green energy and are newly focused solely on oil products. It’s hard to argue with that on a strict fiduciary level in the face of $100/barrel oil, but it’s still disappointing that they are focused on the short term.

They’re chopping 14,500 jobs at the same time, while anally raping Canada digging up oil sands, placing them high on the Corporations That Suck List.

Environmental Graffiti has it:

The move is part of Hayward’s larger overhaul of the energy giant, including a cost-cutting program that will see 14,500 jobs cut and nearly $1 billion trimmed from overhead costs. The company has decided that high oil prices are here to stay, and has decided to maximise its profit by focusing on that area including a much greater investment in the Canadian oil sands. The oil sands in Canada have recently been in the news after being labeled “the most destructive project on Earth”

Link [Environmental Graffiti]